By Adeola Kunle

Immigration Arrests 55 Irregular Migrants in Osun

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Osun State Command, has taken 55 irregular migrants into custody after they were found at different locations across the state without valid travel documents.

The migrants, who are nationals of Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, were paraded by the command on Friday following an intelligence-led operation.

Osun State Comptroller of Immigration, Ibrahim Akinyemi, said the operation was carried out after the command received intelligence that helped officers identify the migrants’ locations.

According to Akinyemi, the migrants entered Nigeria through unauthorised routes and were subsequently located in various parts of Osun State.

He explained that the migrants were brought to the command for profiling and documentation checks to determine whether any of them qualified for legal regularisation.

However, the exercise reportedly established that none of the 55 migrants possessed travel documents, including ordinary passports.

Akinyemi also alleged that the migrants were involved in an unregistered online business, which they identified during questioning as QNET. He said the migrants declined to provide further details about the nature of the business.

Some of the migrants were located in the Owode-Ede community, while immigration officials continued efforts to identify and apprehend others who may be staying at undisclosed locations within the state.

The comptroller said the command would also investigate those responsible for bringing the migrants into Osun State.

The migrants reportedly told immigration officials that they entered the country through Yola, Adamawa State. Akinyemi said arrangements would be made to return them to their point of origin.

One of the detainees, Ismail Mohammed, a Cameroonian national, said he arrived in Osun in February 2026 after a woman living in Chad invited him to Nigeria to participate in an online business.

Meanwhile, a separate operation in Kwara State has resulted in the arrest of 12 suspected irregular migrants from Mali by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The Kwara State Command of the NSCDC said the suspects were arrested in the Akerebiata area of Ilorin following information provided by concerned residents.

The arrests took place on February 22, 2025, at approximately 10:00 p.m.

The suspects were identified as Umar Sangari, 25; Bubu Bill, 43; Modibo Keita, 26; Mahmud Jaalo, 22; Bakare Sumonu, 20; Saiku Dubia, 28; Panda Aboubacar, 32; Malle Siaka, 24; Seku Barry, 34; Lamine Bakou, 27; Baye Bolly, 24; and Zuman Traore, 26.

According to the NSCDC, the 12 suspects were staying in a two-bedroom apartment that had reportedly been rented through a local agent under circumstances considered suspicious.

Adeola Kunle